Harry Potter and the Closing Winter
by Amateur Marauder
Summary: In Harry Potter's Sixth year, Dumbledore decides to transfer two incredibly talented students to attend Hogwarts. With the following culture change, inter-house conflicts, the inevitable meeting with the Dark Lord coming ever closer, and Harry's love life changing, how will this play out? What could also make these matters worse? Everything happens before the Winter Break is over.
1. A Journey Begins: The Two Trios

**A/N: This is a revision and reupload to my original story. While It wasn't the most popular story, and I had all good reviews on it, but I was ashamed and disappointed that I even left had it on the internet in such a fashion. I wasn't satisfied with it at all, so I took it down and basically rewrote it. While I'm not expecting five million people to read and review it, I will at least be happy posting something that I am actually satisfied with. So here we are: Harry Potter and the Closing Winter. Enjoy. **

**Chapter One**

**The Two Trios**

The room was dark, but the light from the ceiling shone through in a magnificent midnight blue color, and small balls of light aligned on the ceiling, mirroring the appearance of the night sky outside of the castle. The plush blue and silver carpet made this room appear even more beautiful under the enchanted and artificial night sky. This place was the Ravenclaw Common Room of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In this small, dimly-lit but elegant room, there were three people sitting at a small table to the right of the fireplace. There were two boys and one girl. On the right side of the table, the tallest boy sat with his feet on the table, staring at the ceiling thinking of nothing in particular. The other boy was on the right side of the table playing a game of solitaire with himself. The girl sat in between them, reading a copy of her favorite book, The Da Vinci Code. This trio all sat mostly reminiscing with each other, even as their time together was brief. They only met yesterday. They were each were 6th year students, holding this late night shebang because they wanted to enjoy each other's company before the first day of term started tomorrow.

The girl at the table was named Ezren Nievre Aster. She was a transfer student from Okanagan Academy in Canada. Exceptionally gifted in potion making, the Canadian bombshell found herself at Hogwarts via some type of trade that her school considered to be "studying abroad." She was brown skinned, pretty, curvy, of healthy weight and height, and had an amazing smile. If it matters at all, she was a true pureblood.

"Whatever! I was not scared." she yelled, stifling laughter.

"You were nervous. I was looking right at you." Levi said, not taking his eyes off the ceiling above him. He was the guy on her right of the table. Levi Taylor was 6 feet tall, athletic build, had tight, clean dreadlocks that were about to his shoulder in length, all held back with a thin blue band, and dark-skinned. He was from the United States, and he was also a transfer student. He attended Townson Gardens Regional Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry (one of five American schools) was a half-blood. They were talking about yesterday, when Ezren was sorted into Hogwarts, and how they met, and became best friends within a few hours. "Oliver noticed it too. Isn't that right?"

"Oliver was the quiet kid on the far side of the table playing a card game of Solitaire with himself, taking up most of the table. Oliver Edouard Bell was about 5'10", pale, with blue eyes and dirty blond hair. He was thin, born in London, and was incredibly shy. In fact, he was so shy that nobody in his year knew who he was because he kept to himself so much.

"Oliver! Don't lie!" Ezren commanded.

"Well…" Oliver nervously started. "It was like this…"

_The scene was yesterday, at the Great Hall, full of new and returning students. The kids who were ready to get sorted were in line. Amongst them, there was one girl that looked far too old to be sorted. McGonagall called out the names and she happened to be the very first to take the seat._

_"Aster, Ezren!"_

_Everyone watched in awe as the girl walked up to the sorting hat. Some remarked on how pretty she was, but most remarked at how old she was. Even the teachers paid special attention to their new arrival. Dumbledore just looked at them with a twinkle in his eye. The "too-old girl" got on the stool and was much too big for it (seeing that it was made for eleven year olds and she looked fifteen or sixteen). The moment the hat was put on her head, it chuckled._

_"How interesting…a transfer." The Sorting Hat mumbled._

_At the Ravenclaw table, the unlikely pair of Levi and Oliver were talking about her._

_"A transfer?" Levi said. "You guys usually get transfers?"_

_"Nah." Oliver replied. "You two are the first two that I've ever seen."_

_Meanwhile, Ezren sat on the stool, legs daintily crossed, equally as nervous as the first years meeting Professor Snape for the first time. The Sorting Hat was making it no better on her fragile nerves._

_"Hmmmm, you have a great deal of bravery in you. At first glance you warrant a chance in Gryffindor… yet you care nothing for the glory and fame… You're too specific to be in Hufflepuff, but perhaps too feisty to be in Ravenclaw. Perhaps Slytherin—"_

_She mentally protested. 'Look harder you stupid hat. Does Slytherin look like a name that should be associated with a being such as me?'_

_The hat smiled and laughed aloud. "I see I've been mistaken, there is no other place for you. May you be successful! Oh the places you shall go." She knew nothing about the other houses, only that Slytherin was considered evil and engrossed in dark magic. She refused the slightest associations with the house provided._

_The sorting hat took a glance up at the Professors and Headmaster and declared, "You'll have some interesting times with one." The brownish hat looked at the students and shouted. "RAVENCLAW!"_

_She stood up apprehensively and walked to the table. She was nervous deep inside (but looked the epitome of calm and collected on the outside) as she walked along the table looking for a place to sit. There were no takers, and suddenly, she felt alienated and frightened. She wished vaguely for her return to Okanagan._

_"Hey! Over here! Sit right here!" she heard a pale boy say._

_Ezren turned left, and sat in the nearest seat. She looked to her left and saw an Asian girl. To her right sat next to a dark skinned kid. In front of her was the pale boy who called for her. She sighed. They all looked weird._

_"Hello…" she mumbled politely with a small smile._

"_Hiya. My names Oliver Bell… What's your name?"_

_Ezren rolled her eyes. "My name was just called. First, in fact. Are you deaf, dear?"_

_They looked shocked and Ezren shook her head. "My name is Ezren Nievre Aster." A brilliant smile took over her face. "How wonderful it is to meet you!"_

"I still wasn't that scared!" She shouted while laughing.

Levi responded. "I was right there."

"You didn't say anything to me at the time!" Ezren yelled.

Levi yawned. "I didn't need to."

"Whatever!" she laughed.

Awkward silence soon fell over the trio.

"What classes are you gonna take for your N.E.W.T.S?" Oliver asked in attempts to break the silence.

They accepted his change of topic.

"Well, we all got Herbology in the first period on Mondays…"

** G. R**

Over in the neighboring tower, there were three 6th years in chairs around the cozy fire of the common room in Gryffindor Tower.

"I can't wait for the first day of terms!" said the bushy-haired one, her face lit up in excitement as her nose was touching the pages of her potions book. "The potions class seems like it will be absolutely wonderful! Slughorn will be an excellent change from Snape."

The redhead to her right, busy stuffing his mouth full of Lemon Tarts, looked up. "Really 'Mione?" he said, struggling to not spit food everywhere. "I still think it will be just as bad." This was Ron Weasley.

"Yes, Ron! I'm taking a lot of classes, so I can work wherever I want when I'm done with school." she said. "And don't talk with your mouth full." She added with a look of repulsion on her face.

The other guy, with a steak-and-kidney pie he was shoveling into his mouth, intervened. The boy had a lightning bold scar or his forehead. He had massive circular glasses on his face. He smiled under his untidy and messy jet black hair. The boy who lived. Harry Potter.

"We're taking classes to be Aurors." He said, "So, it's not much difference from the last year's set of classes."

"That means you're taking Care of Magical Creatures? I think its required for that job, right?" Hermione asked, not taking her eyes off the page.

"Guess so." he said with a smile. "Plus, we have to see Hagrid too. So that's good too."

"Yeah, hopefully we don't die at the hands of some weird animal he pulls out of the woodwork." Ron butted in, his unwillingness to attend the class showed in his voice.

Hermione gave him a glare.

"What Ron? Sure Hagrid goes overboard, but still, he means well!"

Ron laughed. "Talk to me when he _does_ well, Hermione."

She got upset. "Yeah, but you're taking his class! We're some of the closest people he has to friends and family!" she yelled, her voice rising.

"I understand that. But will it really matter if he kills us with another bloody animal? He nearly got sacked last year. I don't see a reason to not worry, mate." Ron said, stretching. "Besides. We can be friends but not take his class. He'll understand."

Hermione was furious. "You're such an idiot! What makes it worse is that you're a selfish one at that!" She stormed off.

As she climbed up her stairs to her room, the two boys heard an echoing "GOOD_NIGHT_!" sound. Then there were two people left in the room.

Ron and Harry in the background were a little confused. Actually, only Ron was confused.

"Nice one, Ron!" Harry said. "If you keep talking to her like that, she'll never know you like her!" Ron replied quickly.

"But you told me to be myself…"

Harry shoved the palm of his hand into his forehead. This was going to be a long term. Very long.


	2. The Seeds of a Rivalry!

**Chapter Two**

**The Seeds of a Rivalry**

The following morning greeted the grounds of the cold stones of Hogwarts castle. It was a certain newness to the air that only the castle can provide each and every year. The first day of terms finally began bringing mixed emotions from the students. Even though chaos was beginning to happen outside of the grounds and walls of the castle in the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts remained a beautiful place for young witches and wizards to escape from it all. However, there was no escape from Professor Snape. Even though Snape had a different class to teach, it was the same as it always was. He was still a massive and intimidating figure to students in each of his classes. First years nearly wet themselves at the mere mention of his name and the billowing of his black cloak. Harry was expecting his class marks to take a nosedive, because Defense Against the Dark Arts was always his strong suit before Snape taught it. Potions still proved difficult even without Snape. However, thanks to Professor Slughorn and the textbook that belonged to the "Half-Blood Prince", potions became far easier for the student.

At the same time, while Hermione was still mad at Ron as she always was, she got over it quickly. She was not only being used to this feeling toward him, and she never could find it in herself to hold a grudge against Ron. She could hold grudges with the best of them, but she just couldn't find it in her.

Levi, Oliver and Ezren of Ravenclaw were looking like the most unlikely trio, but soon they all became inseparable. While each of them amplified and embodied characteristics of your typical Ravenclaw, the three were still different from their housemates. After all, two were foreigners and one was extremely shy. They quickly earned respect of fellow Ravenclaws. Even though Ezren was an extravert and made plenty of new friends with her housemates (and by extension so did Levi and Oliver) she only kept to their own small trio of Oliver and Levi.

As the days went on it was becoming clearer to Ezren that there was something wrong with Levi. She didn't like it. No matter the handshakes thrown his way, or the attractiveness of the females being brought to his attention, he turned them all down and kept to himself. He hardly ever spoke to anyone other than Oliver. Ezren always had to force conversations out of him, and even then he was still disinterested in speaking with anyone. She wanted to believe it was all an act Levi was putting on, so she treated his attitude as such. Nothing infuriated Levi more. As far as Oliver's personality went, the more that people began to surround the trio he became synonymous with, they all learned he was socially awkward. They all knew this in the five years Oliver was previously a Ravenclaw, but now it was amplified because he was always around so many people. To add to matters, he wasn't exactly the most courageous guy. He was actually a fan of avoiding contact, something you have to be (regularly) involved in when you're around Ezren who was never afraid to speak her mind.

The first class of the day was a double period of Herbology with Professor Sprout. Since Herbology was a class that was a required class of only a few professions in the wizarding world, the attendance was relatively low. In the greenhouse at this time were four Ravenclaws, seven Gryffindors and two Hufflepuffs. Among those Ravenclaws, were the Ravenclaw Trio of Levi, Ezren and Oliver. Cho Chang was also enrolled in this class after picking up a sudden interest in the subject matter. As for the Gryffindors, the Golden Trio consisting of Harry, Hermione and Ron was in attendance. Furthermore, Neville and was in this class as well. Neville was consistently at competition with Oliver over the title of the best in Herbology. Oliver's mother was a Herbologist, therefore he felt he knew more.

"Alright, class. Settle down, settle down. First and foremost, can somebody tell me what a Mandrake is?" Professor Sprout asked.

She barely finished the question before she got an answer. "A mandrake is a plant that when unearthed it screams loudly. Its- cry is fatal to anyone who hears it." Neville answered without raising his hand.

"Correct." Professor Sprout smiled. "Five points for Gryffindor. Now, when we…."

Levi stood next to Oliver with his arms folded, looking incredibly distant and disinterested in the class. "Looks like little Oliver got a little competition."

"Oh, shut up Lev." Ezren cut her eyes at Levi. "Oliver's smarter anyway. He's just shy. Go ahead and speak up, Ollie!" she scolded.

"—this makes a potion to immediately wake a person from any coma." Professor Sprout finished saying. "Now, can somebody tell me what a Venomous Tentacula is?"

Naturally, Neville spoke up to answer. "A veno-"

"A Venomous Tentacula is a plant that uses its vines to move and grab moving prey. It's more commonly known amongst businessmen because its leaves are worth at least tens of galleons each. They can be beneficial to just about any strengthening potion and all magical elixirs, after all." It was not Neville this time, but it was Oliver to answer.

"Correct! Five points for Ravenclaw!" Professor Sprout enthusiastically replied, she had two exceptional students in her class, plus Hermione Granger. This term would be easier than she thought. "Now, if you combine these things, then…"

Ron looked at Neville. "You got competition Neville." He smiled. "You can take him on! Go show the bloke up." Ron laughed. The laugh went away quickly as Hermione nudged him hard with her elbow.

"Stop provoking him." She mumbled to Ron, glaring at him as well.

Neville had an inner fire now, Ron was right.

Professor Sprout continued on with her lesson, ignoring the mumbling of her students. "The leaves and the Mandrake roots mixed together in an elixir would kill a person, so we must balance it. For that we—"

"You add two cups off honey water. The honey water makes it easier for a human body to process it." Neville uncharacteristically interrupted.

"Erm… right." She said, grinding her teeth. If there's one thing she hates, its being cut off. "Now, when you add that, you do not drink the Elixir immediately, you—"

"You must wait four days for the roots to fully mature. Then you add Fire Seeds to make it consumable, and wait at least a week." Oliver interrupted her.

Professor Sprout was at a loss of words. Her neck was bulging in anger. "Correct! But you interrupted me rather rudely, so I'm going to have to take five points from Ravenclaw."

As only she could, Ezren emerged from the background with a snide comment.

"Why did Ravenclaw lose five points when he interrupted you too!?" She pointed at Neville. Outrage clearly visible on her face.

Professor Sprout shuddered. She never would have expected that outburst. She almost cursed herself for not reading the file on her desk of Ezren Aster. She would have at least known how to diffuse the situation should the moment Ezren decided to run off at the mouth.

Luckily for Sprout, Ron was outspoken as well. "Well, because Neville is her best student." he said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Why, because, he's a Gryffindor? That's a load of bull." Ezren sneered.

The Gryffindors in the classroom began to show their ruffled feathers. They knew of this increasing theory of "Red Privilege" that the other houses complained about. This was the teachers normally wanting to give the Gryffindors more points, and also being reluctant to take points away from the Gryffindor house. However, none of the houses confronted the Gryffindors about this theory. Ezren was doing so right before their eyes.

"No because he's clearly the better student!" Ron retorted.

"So you're saying that you're better because you're Gryffindor students? I bet you look down on the other houses too, you arrogant piece of work. You people aren't anything special. Especially you, redhead." Ezren commented back.

Ron was about to lose it. "Arrogant! Yeah that's—"

Hermione pulled Ron away quickly in attempts to diffuse the situation. She pulled her face close to his ear, hoping to speak and calm his anger. "Relax. She's not worth it Ron." She whispered.

"I'm not _what_, Granger?" Ezren challenged viciously.

Hermione turned around to see the girl that was intent on attempting to destroy her self-confidence. Hermione showed an expression of no fear. She could not back down! She wouldn't let herself back away versus a _Ravenclaw_. They're not known as fighters, right? Wait; was Hermione even a fighter…? Uh oh.

"I said you're not worth the trouble!" Hermione defiantly yelled back. It felt good.

"You can shut your damned mouth! Nobody here was talking to you!" Ezren screamed. The situation was escalating quickly out of control, even out of Professor Sprout's hands.

Ron drew his wand and out and aimed it in Ezren's face, right between her eyes. "Don't bloody talk to her like that! Say it again and I'll have you puking slugs for a week!" he said through gritted teeth.

Levi, with amazing timing, and even faster speed, appeared directly next to Ron. Taking his wand out with his left hand, and used it to poke at Ron's left temple. Levi had his other hand in his pocket, and was still intent on acting disinterested from the entire situation. Ron kept his wand pointed at Ezren.

"How are you going to have her puking slugs and your brain will be on the floor before you can flick your wrist?" Levi asked, almost as if he wanted Ron to actually answer.

What happened next was utter chaos. Harry dashed pointed his wand at Levi's chest, Oliver ran over and pointed his wand at Harry's neck. The other Ravenclaws pointed the wand at the other Gryffindor's who aimed their wands at anything blue in sight. The room was about to be a warzone.

The two Hufflepuffs in attendance were not about to pick sides today. One false word, another threat, even one sneeze, and the Hospital Wing would be full in less than ten seconds.

"PUT THOSE WANDS DOWN!" Professor Sprout yelled, desperately attempting to facilitate the situation.

Nobody moved.

She quickly took her wand out to solve the situation by force. "_Expelliariamus_!" she yelled.

All wands dropped to the floor. The angry and fearful expressions however, remained the same. If looks could kill, the greenhouse would become a black house.

"Everyone! Detention tomorrow! My office! Now leave!" she yelled.

Class was still close to a half hour from being over, but she didn't care. Students were ready to duel mid class. Her job security flashed before her eyes. She began to feel dizzy at the fact she could become sacked. She longed for the bottle of oak-matured mead in her office.

The houses returned to the Great Hall for lunch, and the hall was abuzz with the news. In Hogwarts, nothing stays secret for long. The Ravenclaw table was heated. They were furious. Ezren quickly realized how influential she became over her fellow housemates. She recognized how great of a leader she became to them. In seconds, the rest of the house was ready to begin dueling right then and there at the tone of her voice and substance of her angry words.

"I don't believe it!" Ezren gritted out, throwing her robes on floor revealing a simple white button up and a skirt Levi _knew_ was too short to pass for regulation. Not that he was complaining or anything. "They think just because the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress came from their house and that they have _'The Chosen One'_, that they're so great! They're so arrogant! It makes me sick!" She stabbed the table with her sharp knife a good six times.

Levi didn't feel the need to add much as he hates complaining, or talking for that matter. As his house sat in anger, he sat picking his nails and ignoring the conversation around him. On his right side, Oliver sat trying to calm down Ezren. It was not going well.

"You're right. They're a little out of place." He said. "We can't let them get to us, Essie."

"He's right, Ren, we shouldn't be getting mad over something like that. It's in the past now. You guys can put them in their place another time." Cho Chang added.

"The Keyword there is you guys. I'll stay off this issue." Oliver laughed.

Ezren laughed as well, by all means was she still upset. She refused to take any lip from anyone. However, she was willing to put her anger behind and enjoy her lunch. What followed was her and her trio engage in a new and quieter conversation with the rest of their house. However, over at the Gryffindor table, all was not well. The entire table knew of it, and not a single one of them were happy about the Herbology incident.

"Who do they think they are?" Ron yelled, fists pumping in the air. "They're not even a concern!"

"They're probably tired of being left out of the rivalry I reckon." Seamus Finnegan added humorously. They do call jealousy is the green eyed monster!"

"Whatever the reason is, they can't go around thinking that they can just say what they want whenever they want to! I have never seen them like that since I've been here!" Dean Thomas added.

Ginny Weasley also chimed in, "Dean's right! Well, halfway. They might be undergoing a culture change, because I have never heard of Ravenclaw upset with us. We've always been on good terms."

"I understand that bit." Harry Potter added. "It just surprised me at how serious it was to her."

"Wait a second!" Hermione Granger added to the crowd. "Maybe we're blaming the wrong people."

There was a collective "hunh!" from the entire crowd surrounding the ones talking.

"Listen, maybe we're being too harsh. Maybe it's just those three we need to focus on; they're the ones who started it! We can't go around thinking all Ravenclaws are like that!"

Then there was a collective "Ooooooh…"

Harry stood up.

"I agree. We've never seen her before, so we don't know what she's capable of. But Oliver and Levi have been here, in the shadows right?" Harry asked and everyone nodded. "So we should first find out what Oliver and Levi are like. Ezren, I think, will be much harder to snoop on. Anyhow, I'll talk to Luna tomorrow during Potions. She should have some insight."

Everyone agreed, and dispersed. In reality the conflict wasn't _that _big of a deal, but they had their collective egos bruised, and them living up to their reputation couldn't take that lying down.


	3. The Differences: Observe and Report

**Chapter Three**

**The Differences. Report and Observe!**

Harry was feeling the sting of karma. When he never wanted to see Luna, she was always there. Now that he needed her, she was nowhere to be found. The Ravenclaw three were actually in a few of their classes, making each class a tension-filled atmosphere.

The only classes the trio did not have with any member of that Ravenclaw trio together was Care of Magical Creatures. To be fair, very few people took that class, regardless of house. Fortunately for Harry, Ron and Hermione, Hagrid took notice of his lack of attendance. They also had Potions, and Divination without the Ravenclaw trio. Of course, Hermione forced them to sit that last one. Harry kept scanning the Ravenclaw table for her every meal. For a few days, he couldn't see her. What was that all about?

The more and more he looked for Luna however, the more he saw the Ravenclaw trio. The much talked about altercation took place on Monday, and in the days that followed, there was not a conflict on Tuesday and Wednesday. In Harry's mind, it seemed that the word didn't spread too far. After all, it was the first week of class. People were getting settled in. For the moment it seems that the two classes weren't compelled to attack each other, and the incident would go away.

Even though Professor Snape was the new defense against the Dark Arts teacher; he was just as harsh and unrelenting as he was in potions. He was his usual roster of characteristics; hard, uncompromising, and incredibly cynical. Hermione detested the fact that he was insistent of teaching the class spells and curses far above their ability. To make matters worse for her, the spells they were being taught held no real practicality. In this class, only Hermione shared with just Ezren. Ron, Levi, Harry and Oliver had classes elsewhere at this time period. After watching her, an idea slowly began to plague her. In that class and outside the classroom, she began to see something interesting about Ezren. Her friends compared to hers were—different.

Levi and Oliver had a different bond with Ezren than Harry and Ron had with Hermione. It face value it didn't appear different, but the actual dynamics of the relationships were vastly different. This ate at her psyche the more she thought of it. Levi and Oliver to talk her like she's "one of the boys", but they still respected her being a "girl." Hermione longed for more appreciative friends. The more she gave it thought, the more she realized that her friends were dysfunctional. When it came to Harry, as much as he wants to protect all of his friends, he never fails to treat them like sidekicks. Ron's just tactless—a tactless git.

On Friday, the second-to-last class of the week was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. This class was incredibly diverse with students from each of the four houses, it being required each an every year for nearly every wizarding profession. In the back corner of the room, closest to the door sat the Ravenclaw trio. On the opposite side of the room; Hermione, Ron and Harry sat. Needless to say, every student was ready to go back to their dormitories and enjoy the weekend.

"Students, today we are going to try more advanced transfiguration!" Ms. McGonagall said to open the class. "Previously, we would turn small objects into items of equal size and mass. Then we did it with larger objects. Now, were going to try to convert small objects, into actually mobile objects. The first student to successfully convert their stone (she held up a stone in her left hand), into a bird of any kind (she held up a small Sparrow in her right), wins fifty points for their house. Consult chapter five for help. And you may get started."

All of students began to work as hard as they could. Starting their weekend with 50 points for their house was a very nice way to begin.

Hermione was the first to break ground, as her stone first looked like a bird, with no wings. "Shoot!" she yelled. As she began to consult the textbook again.

Harry was also just as frustrated. His rock leapt inches into the air and changed shape, but did nothing more than that. "C'mon!"

Ron had already given up.

On the other side of the room, Oliver had not made a single attempt on his rock. He was reading his copy of Advanced Transfiguration and he was reading and re-reading the same page. Levi was sitting with his chin resting on his hand and looking out the window. His left hand was on his wand, and he was doodling on a piece of parchment.

"Found it yet, Ollie?" Ezren asked with a yawn.

"Well, from the book, it says you must say it, flick you're wand to the right, then swirl it counterclockwise 180 degrees, and concentrate while doing so, that's about it in a nutshell, mate."

"Okay, you and Lev stand back, let me focus. I'm gonna try it non-verbally."

"Don't blast the other side of the room away." Levi said, not taking his eyes off his doodles.

"Shut up and gimme the damn Silencing Charm." She retorted sharply.

Oliver stepped back, and Levi snapped his fingers, casting the silencing charm around her head. She was in her own personal bubble perfect silence. The feeling was surreal and calming to her. She could see and sense how hectic the room was around her. She could simply close her eyes and feel completely detached from it. It was only her and her thoughts. She closed her eyes. She took a deep breath. She found it easier to gathering herself and focus. She ran over the incantation in her mind several times. She then opened her eyes.

Flick. Swirl.

"Aha!"

Her voice echoed through the room, and rang over all of the other voices. Everyone stopped the attempts on their stones looked up only to see a yellow canary flutter about. The bird was whizzing in circles over her head, and Ezren was stretching as if she had just woken from a nap.

"That was actually more difficult than I had imagined. Nonetheless, look at the work of art I created and admire me. Don't be ashamed." She said smugly as she tossed her friends a look that was nonverbal boasting.

Behind her, Oliver was looking impressed. Levi sarcastically clapped, attempting to act unimpressed, even though he was very surprised. In the front of the room however, McGonagall's jaw dropped. Successful on the first attempt, and she was even using a non-verbal incantation? McGonagall was nothing short of flabbergasted.

"Fa-Fa-Fantastic! For an amazing display of Transfiguration…and even with non-verbal magic, I award Ravenclaw seventy points!" she said with a grin.

The canary flew to Ezren's open right hand. It settled in the center of her palm and looked as if it was about to sleep. It then reverted back to the same stone it was before. Hermione watched the entire event unfold. She was nothing short of furious. Ezren not only had a better support system, maybe even the looks, and she had shown her up in one of her best classes? Hermione refused to allow this to continue. Something in her just snapped. Even if you ask her, she wouldn't be able to tell you. Everything in her just let go. Her anger took control of her in that small moment. She slammed her wand on the desk and with a mighty boom and a howling wind, she sent papers and books flying in the air. Amidst the falling papers, a dove was fluttering.

"Ms. Granger!" she yelled. Hermione never acted like that. She succeeded in her spell, but action had to be taken for that display of anger. "For that outburst, I am taking ten points from Gryffindor!"

Hermione nearly burst a blood vessel in anger. When would it end?

Ron tried to fly to her side to no avail. "But Professor, she made the b—"

"Silence Mr. Weasley! If my students cannot exercise self-control, then you cannot possibly master my class! Transfiguration is more than magic. It is an art form. If she cannot manage to control her outbursts of anger, she can't perfect the complex art that is Transfiguration!"

Hermione apologized with scorn coursing through her being. "I'm sorry Professor McGonagall."

For Harry and Ron, potions was the last class of the day and the week. Just as Snape made the Defense Against the Dark Arts class look like the dungeon, Professor Slughorn made the Potions room look like his old room. All he did was add sun light and it was almost stunning to see how different of a room it became. Harry came to this room not to see Slughorn and this "Slug Club", but to see Luna, who he hadn't seen all week.

"Harry, we have got to find Luna and get in that common room." Hermione said, as she added saltwater to her cauldron. Since the episode in Transfiguration, she was all for finding out all the information she could on those Ravenclaw three. Especially Little Miss Ezren.

"I think we have potions together. If we don't see her, then we have to do something ourselves." Harry said.

"Mate, don't you think we should cut it this time?" Ron said.

They both looked at him with looks of disapproval. Ron? Holding back? The old Ron would have jumped right in! Hermione guessed Lavender Brown was the reason for the sudden change in him, he was different ever since she came "into his life". Yes, Lavender Brown, the girl who was Ron's new girlfriend. Nobody saw that coming.

"What? Why?" Hermione said in aghast.

"Don't you reckon that if we get caught that this thing will a little out of hand?" he said. "Like do we really have to go 'round spying on everything? The situation will only get worse."

"Ron, but you never found a problem with this before!" Harry yelled as he crushed a Moonbeetle with his knife.

"That's that Lavender in him." Hermione slyly, more scorn dominating the tone of her voice.

Harry had to wait for his potion to settle for ten minutes. So he surveyed the room for the first time all day. It looked incredibly different from years past. It was no longer dominated by Slytherins. It was an odd feeling to not have to deal with the words of Malfoy. The odd part, a lone Ravenclaw took the class. They were the only one in attendance. The odder part about, was that it was Oliver Bell. He was always with either Ezren or Levi. He was rarely seen alone. The oddest part of it all, he wasn't in the back by himself. He was in the back talking to Parvatti Patil. They were at least a few tables away from about everyone else in the room. What was that about? Doesn't he only talk his Ravenclaw friends? Harry then remembered that he was looking for Luna. Nowhere in sight. Harry's eyes widened.

"Okay class, take your seats." Slughorn said. "I have more of the lesson to get through as you all are brewing. You should be letting your potions settle for the moment and letting the juice of the Moonbeetle saturate through the potion.

Harry then realized that Luna was not in this class. She said that she was in this class before term started. She wasn't in the room.

"Hermione, what are we gonna do now!?" He whispered.

"I don't know!" Hermione whispered back

"What!?" Harry yelled. "You're the one with all the plans!"

"What!?" she yelled back.

"Well, I dunno! All I do is say we need something done, you plan it, and we do it!" Harry whispered rather loudly.

"Excuse me!" Slughorn said. Harry and Hermione looked up. "A little quiet please." He asked

"Sorry Professor." They apologized in unison. They both were quiet for a few moments as Slughorn resumed the lesson.

"So what are we gonna do?" Harry whispered. "The rest of the Gryffindors are counting on us!"

"Oh, don't pretend like you're doing this for them!" Hermione whispered back.

Harry leaned in closer to Hermione. "They're in on it too! We have to—"

"Come on Harry!" she cut him off. "If you're going to do it, then do it! But don't pretend like it's not for your benefit either!"

"Well maybe it is! But we don't exactly have a plan in there now do we!" He spat back.

"Yeah well—"

Ron looked at them and leaned across the table. "Look guys, you seem to have forgotten how truly easy it is to sneak in there. We just have to figure out a riddle. All we need is the invisibility cloak and to get there when it's a quiet moment. You know that they don't have the loud curse noise when boys try to enter the girls dormitory."

Hermione had a look of disgust on her face at that last sentence. "How would you know that, Ronald?"

Ron remained calm and whispered back. "Remember? Fred and George told us."

Hermione and Harry were stunned. Ron doesn't make plans, ever! The same question was on both of their minds.

"Yeah, but how do we get to learn about them and see-"

Ron cut them off again. "Tonight they're having a little chat between the 6th years. That's all they've talked about this week. You never noticed? They're gonna share stories and bond in the Common Room. If they go, then we'll learn all we need to know."

Hermione and Harry were not in a place to argue. They were stunned that Ron had the observational skills.

They bided their time until dinner and hatched the rest of the plan. With the help of the rest of the Gryffindor table, they came up with a plan. The only problem was taking a leap of faith that Ezren, Levi and Oliver would be there. Not only that, but what information would they possibly give to help them. The plan itself was as simple as plans could get. They were to leave in the middle of dinner, get the cloak, and rush to the door to the common room. They were to have enough time to solve the riddle and set up in the common room, while all of the Ravenclaws were still at dinner. They targeted Levi and Ezren as people of interest.

"But what if we can't get in?" Hermione said. "What if we can't solve the riddle?"

"We still have to figure out who gets to go first. " Harry said. "That's more important."

As usual, Collin Creevy was the idea box. "I think Hermione and Harry should go! Harry has the cloak, and Hermione's good at riddles!"

Dean Thomas spoke up "Wait, if we're looking at riddles, then why shouldn't I go?"

"If it's all riddles then I should be the one to go." Ginny spoke up.

"It can only be two, and we have to stay small, when we get there." Harry said.

"Wait, then how come you get to go!" Lavender Brown jumped in, "And how come me and Ronnie-pooh can't go?"

Ron's face turned red, not because of blushing, but embarrassment. Hermione's face turned red as well. It was not red because of embarrassment, but because of anger. There was a long silence that followed.

Ron began. "So Hermione and Harry are gonna do this?"

"Agreed."

"Second it!"

"Agreed, mate!"

"Agreed!"

The motion was carried, and Hermione and Harry scurried off with a few items from dinner. The pair sprinted up Gryffindor tower, grabbed the invisibility cloak, and sprinted to the other side of the castle. They never felt the need to come to this section of the castle. It almost looked new and foreign to them. They could tell they were above the kitchens because they could hear the clamor of the House-elves. After poking around, this side of the castle for the better part of a half hour, they saw it; the bronze knocker of the Raven. They anxiously and nervously walked up and knocked three times. Harry learned this unconsciously from Cho Chang. The duo stood frozen and awaited the riddle.

The Raven then came to life and spoke. "What has a mouth, but cannot chew?"

They exchanged looks. "Well, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"What! You're in on this too!" she replied.

"Yeah! But you're the smart one!" Harry replied.

They both pondered. Absolutely no ideas came to mind. Hermione decided to take a stab in the dark.

"A Snorcack?" she said unsurely, thinking of Luna Lovegood.

An awkward silence followed. "INCORRECT!" the raven said, and it turned back into the Bronze Knocker it was before. That was failed.

"Good one Hermione." Harry mumbled.

"You said I was here to do this!" she yelled back. "You have a brain as well, Harry."

Harry scoffed. "Still, we needed you to get it right."

Hermione was taken aback. "Then why were you here! Just because it's your cloak doesn't mean-"

They both fell silent and stayed still. They could hear giggles and footsteps. They were coming. The voices were becoming louder, and clearer, towards their position.

"HIDE!" they both yelled at each other.

They kneeled, and pulled the invisibility cloak over them, and stayed close to the wall.

There were two people, a random Ravenclaw, and Cho Chang. Harry's heart melted, and not in a good way.

"Ha, wait until later!" she said giggling as the male was wrapping his hands over her entire body. They approached the bronze knocker and knocked three times. The Raven came to life once again and spoke.

"What is broken every time it is spoken?"

"C'mon baby, I know you know this one!" he said. "Hurry up."

He hugged her and kissed her on the neck several times, amongst all of her giggles. "Ok ok, stop." She laughed. "Lemme answer it."

"Whatever." He said, removing his lips from her neck.

Cho looked at the bronze knocker. "Silence." She confidently answered.

The door slid open immediately. Harry and Hermione were stunned at how easy it truly was to open the door, but it still seemed difficult. Well, Harry was heartbroken and stunned, but that's not the point. Cho and the Ravenclaw boy kissed all the way in the door.

"Harry!" Hermione whispered.

Harry snapped out of his trance. "Yeah, let's move." And

They ran into the door after the kissing couple. They miraculously managed to rush in, and the door closed right behind them. They breathe a sigh of relief. The hardest part was over.

"Well, we're in…" Hermione mumbled.

They expected the Ravenclaw tower to mirror Gryffindor tower in some way. They both looked up the tower steps, and this was nothing like Gryffindor Tower. Where they stood was grey and cold. There were winding staircases, and blue light emanating from where they guessed where the common room. On top of that, the staircase was long, tall and a hassle to climb. Tall seemed like an understatement, because when they looked up, they could barely see the light of the common room. Yet the "mission" they were on was one of the furthest things from Harry's mind. The thoughts of Cho Chang climbed back up into his mind. Had she really forgotten him so quickly? He knew that things fell apart, but had she moved on so swiftly?

"Harry…?" Hermione grabbed his hand. "Are you okay?"

He snapped out of his trance again. "Yeah, let's get up there." He said.


	4. Story Time

Chapter Four

Story Time

Harry and Hermione climbed the steep and cold steps to the Ravenclaw common room. Once they arrived, they were met with a beautiful sight of plush blue carpets. They compared this common room to the Slytherin dungeons were they saw a few years back, and the Ravenclaw Common room was far more aesthetically pleasing. As the sun outside was setting, the room's ceiling and carpet became gold and blue. The more the stars revealed themselves in the approaching night sky. The atmosphere became more and more relaxing, the more the ceiling began to replicate the stars in the sky. It was almost surreal how calming the room looked.

"Harry, let's set up over there," Hermione whispered.

She pointed to the vacant corner of the room, and they went to a corner to set up what would be their makeshift basecamp all under the protection of the invisibility cloak. Hermione took out parchment and two quills, Harry place the five napkins of bread, tarts, and various other snacks in front of him. The next thing to do was play the waiting game. They didn't have to wait too long for the first event to take place. The first thing they saw was Cho Chang walking swiftly with Oliver and Levi hot on her heels. They were in an obvious rush, and ran through the common room to the exit.

Harry jumped at the chance to tail them. "Hermione! Where do you reckon they're going!?" Harry whispered.

"Let's not follow." Hermione said calmly. "We don't know if we'll be able to get back in the common room if we leave!"

Harry sulked. "Fine. We'll wait then."

Cho Chang was hurrying Levi Taylor and Oliver Bell to the kitchens.

"C'mon! We have to get food and then hurry back to the common room!" she said, her heels clicking on the ground as she walked faster and faster. "The other guys are probably already there!"

Behind Cho's blistering pace was Oliver. Behind Oliver was Levi. They were normally object to following directions, but abstained from telling Cho this. They learned to cope with being bossed around. After all, Ezren _was_ their best friend. As anyone who knew of her also knew that she never had a problem with giving orders.

"Why are we doing this again?" Oliver asked with a bored yawn.

"Ravenclaws have a tradition of keeping in contact after Hogwarts." She airily said. "It's a tradition among housemates in a given year. We all must talk and become closer as a unit."

Cho's pace continued to lead far in front of the other two boys. As she turned the corner however, she was met with an equally suspicious trio of Slytherins roaming the castle. It wasn't after hours yet, but it was close enough to curfew to warrant attention. Cho was the first to walk through the oncoming trio, and she walked through them without issue. Oliver said "excuse me" as he passed through, and he moved without issue. However; Levi was not about to move to avoid them. His right shoulder bumped into the blonde haired one. The force sent them both turning around and then causing them to look at the other. The blond haired one looked at Levi with the dirtiest look he could muster. Levi gave him a quick glance and then walked away.

"Who the hell are you?" the blonde Slytherin yelled. "Don't you dare ignore me!"

"Yeah! Who are you?" The chubby Slytherin said, adding on to the blonde's statement. "Oh never mind him, he's a Ravenclaw, he's not worth it."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "And you are? Pause, overweight I know. But not that obvious. Your name?" Levi began.

"How dare you!" the blonde and his comrades yelled. Draco Malfoy and his entourage had their wands at the ready, yet the wands sat at their waists. If they were to get raised, then a duel would commence immediately.

Levi snapped his fingers and his wand appeared in his left hand. Oliver had never paid much attention. Because until now, he never saw the jet black color of his wand, nor had he seen anyone wield theirs left handed. "You mind putting those wands away before all of you get hurt?" he challenged.

Oliver had never noticed it before, but Levi's wand was onyx black. Not the normal black colored wand he was used to seeing his classmates wielding, but it seemed far- darker. Not only in color, but in material. It gave Oliver the chills when he stared at it for too long.

"You'll regret those words boy!" Malfoy said, a look of pure determination on his face.

"By whose hands, exactly?" Levi crossed his arms. "Yours? That's adorable."

Oliver had about enough. "Levi, come on! We gotta go. You can take care of these idiots later. They aren't worth it." Oliver grabbed Levi by the arm and attempted to pull him away. Cho agreed and wrapped her arms around Levi's torso and attempted to pull him away.

"I'm not worth it!? Mudblood, I'll have you back to scrubbing the dungeons! I could buy you and your worthless family." Malfoy retorted angrily.

Levi instinctively rushed to his defense. The hold of Cho and Oliver broke quickly. He pointed his wand between the eyes of Draco Malfoy. "Get on your knees and apologize to him before you'll be hexed with something that the nurse won't be able to figure out how to deal with."

"Or what? My father will hear about it and he won't be pleased about it! " Draco sneered.

"I would give him double the treatment you got. I'd bury the both of you my damn self. Forget talking."

Oliver's jaw dropped. Cho cupped her hands over her mouth. Levi had absolutely no idea who he was really talking to. All wands were pointed. Levi began to argue with himself mentally. Every time he was at a crossroads; his mind and body split between what was right, and what _felt_ right. This was one of those times. He felt the need to feed into his killer instinct. Then he also felt the need to run and act like this didn't happen.

"_Kill him. Who's going to make you pay? You can kill them too!"_

"**No! Put the wand down! Violence is never the answer!"**

"_Screw that! Put him out of his misery! They can't take you on!"_

"**Stop! There is no need for this! You're better than that!"**

"_No need for what? Fear is the best way to get respect around here. Teach them what fear is! Go for it!"_

Levi's mind felt like it was tearing into shreds. Cho and Oliver were not looking for a fight. His body was ordering attack, but his mind would not allow it, and his will power to choose was breaking down. He was spinning, and it felt like his body couldn't take it. His hand was shaking and they were waiting on the attack. What felt like an eternity in Levi's mind, on the outside the timeframe had grown into one long awkward moment.

"See, the poor lad is scared!" Malfoy taunted.

Levi's head had resulted in the most pounding headache. He had never felt like this before. He felt as if he was about to puke. His body was shaking. His head felt like someone was smacking his brain with sandbags. His legs felt weak, and he lowered his wand. Oliver rushed to his side and pulled Levi away. Cho also supported the suddenly weak-kneed male.

"Yeah…" Oliver started. "We're just gonna go this way…"

"Yeah you take that filth with you mudblood." He laughed.

Levi snapped. His left arm swung away from Oliver's support and he spun around to face Draco. Levi pointed his wand to the chest of Draco. Draco was forced back instantly as if a massive gush of wind hit him.

The moment Oliver opened his mouth to call Levi and reprimand him for his behavior, Levi vanished with a crack.

Up in the common room, Harry was uneasy. There were about twelve Ravenclaws in a circle. They all were waiting for Cho. The foremost problem was that, only Ezren was there. There was no Levi. There was no Oliver.

"So when's this thing starting?" He mumbled to Hermione who was covering her mouth as she yawned quietly.

"I wish I knew. I have charms to practice." She replied.

Hermione was drifting off. Harry had to nudge her to stay awake. Where were the other two? And where was Luna!? Why hadn't he seen her? Could we a least get this show on the road, PLEASE!? He almost contemplated sneaking out, abandoning mission. Boredom was hitting Harry hard.

As if on cue, the staircase door opened. Entering the elegant common room was Cho and Oliver. Each of them were holding several baskets of cakes, pies, chips, tarts, jars of juice and several other snack items. They set them in the middle of the circle by and the hungry Ravenclaws eagerly attacked the baskets.

"So, let's begin." Cho said. "We're gonna start with name, age, where you're from, what you like, and hate and anything else you feel it pertinent."

As usual, Ezren had to say something against it. "Say…why are we doing this again?"

A random female Ravenclaw took over. "Because this is tradition, and we have a reputation for staying in contact after we leave Hogwarts."

The sit-down discussion began.

Ezren looked at Oliver forlornly and mumbled, "I haven't been here two months and I'm already missing Okanagan Academy. Where's Lev?"

Oliver looked at Ezren and shrugged. "I dunno. Mate's always been fond of his solitude."

The honest answer was "hell if I know! He just disappeared!" But he refused to alarm Ezren.

Levi fell to the carpeted floor and looked up. He surveyed his area, and it was a grand and elegant (but cluttered) office. In his face was a red bird pecking away at his forehead. Irritated, Levi arrogantly smacked the bird away and it flew backwards. It then landed on the shoulders of an old man with a long silver beard and half-moon spectacles. Albus Dumbledore.

"Ah, Mr. Taylor." He began. "What can I do for you tonight?"

"Don't act new." Levi sneered, anger dominating his tone. "Why did you bring me here?"

Dumbledore sat in his comfortable headmaster's chair. He then pointed at the chair on the opposite of the cluttered and messy desk. "Do sit."

Levi grudgingly rose from the floor. He took his seat. "Start talking." Levi said.

Dumbledore laughed. "Well, Mr. Taylor. I admire your ability to retain your composure, but your attitude is vastly unnecessary. I merely called you here to talk. I'm sure you would also like to talk as well."

Levi slouched in his chair, unimpressed. "Unless it's about my pounding headache I don't care."

Dumbledore leaned on his desk. "It is. I actually came with a solution for it."

Levi's eyes widened. "Well then. Start talking."

"And I looove unicorns!" A girl said.

Ezren and Oliver were bored out of their minds, and now, it was Ezren's turn. _Finally._ Harry in the distance woke Hermione up. They were forced to take shifts due to the sheer boredom that was going around. Hermione grabbed the quill, and started.

"Well, my name is Ezren Nievre Aster. I was born in Okanagan Valley, Canada. As you can probably surmise, I attended a prestigious boarding school by the name of Okanagan Academy. How surprising. I am a purebred pureblood, _not_ inbred. It sickens me to think that I married any of my family. I like to fight, eat, make jokes, and Snape. Oh my god, I _love_ Professor Snape! He is just so dark and funny and he is so cynical! I just—"

She paused because the entire room was looking at her. Harry and Hermione were looking sick and the Ravenclaw's were baffled. For about the first time in her life she felt a little embarrassed.

Dumbledore was across his desk in his chair. The portraits of the Headmasters past were fast asleep. "Well, you used to have two wands correct?"

Levi scoffed. "You already know that, why are you asking me?"

Dumbledore pinched his nose. "Let me begin. The story you've been telling your classmates is that you were in a muggle foster home until you turned fifteen.

Levi nodded. "Yeah. They all believe it."

"Rubbish." Dumbledore said. "You admitted to having two wands. I'd imagine that they don't leave two very powerful wands lying around."

Levi folded his arms and looked away. "I am powerful. That's all me."

"That was all with your parents. Your mother possessed a light brown wand I'm sure. It was just as pure and innocent as she was. Unicorn hair, harpy hair, fairy heartstring. That wand was nothing short of pure light. To add to matters, she was a pureblood. The purest as one could be in the United States."

Levi nodded, listening intently.

"Your father on the other hand was a muggle-born. His spirit and his wand were as engraved in dark magic as they could be. The wood from a Whomping Willow, Basilisk Venom, Snakes Blood, and Wolf hair. It is the wand you currently use."  
Levi looked at the fourteen inch, jet-black wand held in his hand.

Still, what was with the conflict inside of him?

"Notice you don't have one of your own. My hunch, is that those wands amplify parts of your still-impressionable psyche. Your trained well with each wand equally, however your mothers wand broke. May I ask how?"

Levi thought about telling him. "No."

"Levi, don't pretend im ignorant as to your lifestyle before you arrive in my castle gates. I know full well you were a well-trained assassin in the States."

Levi looked away from Dumbledore and remained silent.

Dumbledore sighed. "I don't know who broke the want, but a powerful wizard must have been the one to do it. Of that much I'm sure. Now that you only have the wand of darkness influencing you, I'm assuming its attempting to take your psyche over entirely."

"And I hate pretty much everything else." Ezren finished.

"What do you want to do when you leave Hogwarts?" A kid asked.

"Move back to Canada and open an apothecary." She said without skipping a beat.

"So you duel?"

"Duel? Or fight? Big difference. In Canada, fighting constitutes physical brawling. Dueling, constitutes wands. Over here it's so much… softer."

There was an immediate uproar. She called the British wizards "soft." Not the best word to use. After Ezren had explained how Canadian magical communities really worked, they toned down. Life in magical Canada wasn't so easy after all! They struggled to ask more questions, for fear they would realize firsthand how they dueled "across the pond."  
"So, what made you transfer to Hogwarts?" Luna asked.

"Dumbledore made a school call. Some money exchanged hands. And here I am."

-  
"What do you mean attempts to?" Levi asked.

"I mean that your mother is still within you. She didn't leave simply because her wand broke. The connection with the wand still exists. As long as your will rests with her, the dark magic of your father will not overtake you.

Levi sighed. "Well isn't that just cute. What do I do about it?"

Dumbledore pulled out a white and green bracelet. "Wear this, and the darkness will be controlled within you. You will be able to make decisions for yourself now, and the darkness will not overtake you nor tempt you, as long as you won't let it. Like when you resisted the urge to hurt Draco Malfoy a few minutes prior to finding me."

"How did you—"

"Taylor. I know what's going on in my castle a little better than you think I do." He added a smile.

Levi snatched the bracelet from Dumbledore. He put the bracelet on his left wrist. He felt different. He didn't feel great, but he felt different. His urge to kill was suppressed greatly. His mind and body were on the same page, and a great 'demon' inside of him felt chained up, but nonetheless still there. This gave Levi peace of mind, but strangely made him feel weaker.

"Whoa…"

"Now back to your common room Mr. Taylor, it almost after hours, and I don't want to have Filch drag you in here." Dumbledore said, calmly.

Levi scoffed as he walked out of Dumbledore's office. "Like I care about Filch. Id bury him too."

Dumbledore had a sudden realization. "One more thing, Mr. Taylor."

Levi turned on his heels. "What now!?"

Dumbledore ignored the hostility in his voice. "Ms. Lovegood is entertaining the house elves in the kitchens. Please retrieve her and escort her back to the common rooms."

Levi walked out the room. "Yeah, whatever."


	5. The Rampage

Chapter 5- The Rampage

When the sun rose and it finally became Monday morning, Harry and Hermione found that they were not only ones not disappointed with the results of the Ravenclaw sit-in the previous Friday evening. That morning, when the two finally got a chance to sit in the Gryffindor Common Room with their peers, a heated debate broke out.

"He wasn't even _there_!" Neville Longbottom vented.

"That's right! She didn't even say anything useful!" Ron Weasley said.

Dean Thomas viewed it as progress. "Well, we know more about them than we did before. We knew nothing about Ezren, but now we know she has a crush on Snape! See _progress_?" He urged. "There's something we can use with that information."

Ginny Weasley was all for breaking down the data. "Look, we see the girl. She's the leader. She's from Canada, and she has a secret weakness for bows. Tell me that that isn't useful!"

The results were not up for debate. The Gryffindors, specifically Harry and Hermione, just wasted a colossal amount of time and effort. Before they even had the chance to curse themselves, the class bell rang.

However, Draco Malfoy had his own metaphorical plate full. While Harry Potter was content on chasing information about the suddenly ego-bruising Ravenclaws, Malfoy had issues of far more importance. As he walked on the fifth floor, which was empty at this time, he just received the message he had been trying to avoid. Snape appeared from virtually nowhere, and pinned the young Slytherin to the corner.

"Unhand me, Serverus!" Draco struggled, his body going limp against the wall.

"Draco," Snape mumbled. "The point at Midnight. Don't dawdle."

With no further words nor warning, Serverus Snape walked away from Draco, his black cloak billowing in an intimidating action with each step. The remainder of Draco's Monday was spent worrying about the meet he would be forced to endure later.

ON the opposite of the frustrated Harry Potter and the anxious Draco Malfoy Levi felt like a new man. The bracelet he held on his left wrist, seemed to keep in control his the darkness of the wand he wielded in his left hand. He noticed that he could control his spells with precision that was previously impossible. Even everyday things like him trying to control his temper became easier. While it also became possible for him to want smile and begin to open up and socialize with others, he still chose not to. His dislike for the boring lifestyle as a transfer student manifested itself in the hatred of actual people who attended the school. However, Ezren and Oliver began to see him slowly forge an even bigger bond with him. Oliver embraced the change, because Levi no longer struck fear into his heart when he was upset. While Levi could control his anger and focus, his anger could not be controlled and stifled when it came to his Arithmancy homework.

"She says add seven, but when I do she claims it's wrong! This is some old bull sh—"

"Levi calm down!" Oliver said. "Look, she didn't mean add seven to the end, she meant add the _magical property_ of seven in the equation, then find out the answer."

Levi's anger had not subsided. "Then that means I gotta start all over. Forget this impractical garbage." Levi crumbled up the parchment and tossed it against the wall. "I'd rather be in Care of Magical Creatures."

Ezren looked up from her Arithmancy homework. "No you wouldn't. You'd be down there with that filthy caretaker and those arrogant, intolerable, snivelling, pathetic Gryffindor snobs. Who knows what stupid animal might kill them today?" She added with an eerie sarcastic smile as she dipped her quill in ink.

After avoiding an incident in Herbology successfully this morning, the trio found themselves in their Care of Magical Creatures class.

"Okay class!" Hagrid happily said. "Today, we're gonna take a look at a fascinatin' creature; the lil ol' Andromander!"

Hermione began feverishly searching through her textbook as Hagrid explained what it was, and what not to do with it.

"It says here… than an Andromander is a magical mammal, and resembles a large bear. Cubs take on average four years to become fully grown, and the cubs should not be exposed to excessive amounts of light or more than five people at a time in their first year."

"… and this cub is about eight weeks old, so do be careful."

"Hagrid no!"

He pulled the cub out of a crate. It looked like a morbidly overweight cat. It was short, stout, its nose was like a trunk that came down to its chest, and its underbelly was jet black. For the moment it was asleep. It looked cute, only because it was hairy and fuzzy with bright orange fur.

"Awwwh!" The girls cooed.

"SHHHH!" Hagrid beckoned. "We don't want ter wake it!"

Suddenly, Hagrid didn't seem like Hagrid. He sat staring into space, and he looked as if he was thinking of something groundbreaking. His facial expression was blank. His body wasn't moving.

"Erm… Hagrid?" Ron asked. Hagrid had not moved. His face was as blank as before. His eyes widened.

Hermione stared at her Professor. "Are you okay Hagrid?" she asked.

Again, no response was met from Hagrid.

"What's up with him?" Ron asked.

Harry was equally as confused. "Hagrid? You ok?" He asked.

Hagrid turned his head suddenly and stared at Harry. This made several people leap backwards in fear. Hagrid's wide eyes were fixated entirely on Harry. As Harry slowly paced around his professor, there were wide eyes staring back at him as angrily as one could look. The cub dropped from Hagrid's grip and fell to the dirt.

"POTTER!" Hagrid yelled.

They felt the ground tremble as Hagrid pushed students out of the way on his way to Harry. With a look in his eyes of nothing but ill intentions, Hagrid took the back of his hand and knocked Harry into the air. Harry had the air knocked out of every cell in his body and fell to the ground.

Hermione unsheathed her wand, attempting to do something. At the very least she was going to hold Hagrid off until help arrived. Harry scrambled to his feet and whipped out his wand. He attempted to do the same.

"POTTER!" Hagrid yelled.

Hagrid sprinted to Harry again. Unconsciously, Harry pointed his wand at Hagrid and tried to disarm his opponent.

"_Expelliarmus_!" he yelled.

Harry then watched as Hagrid sprinted to him and harry realized his stupidity. Hagrid was simply running at him. How was he going to disarm a half-giant with no wand? Hagrid charged for Harry, and Harry dove out of the way before Hagrid scooped him up and squashed him. Harry backpedaled over to Hermione and Ron, who were both at a loss for words.

"Hermione," Ron began. "I thought he was supposed to be finding an animal to kill us off. Not the other way around."

"Something's wrong." Hermione said. "This isn't right."

"I could have told you that." Ron said. "How do we fix it?"

"We have to wait for Dumbledore." Harry said. "We have to hold him off until he gets here."

"How do we let him know, Harry?" Hermione asked. "It's not like there's a universal signal for distress on campus."

Harry thought hard. A signal or something to convey a message of a huge problem. The idea hit Harry like a ton of bricks. He pointed his wand to the air and red sparks flew high into the sky. Dumbledore would see it. He would have to get the idea. It isn't every day that you look up and see red sparks fly into the sky. Harry then thought of what he just said. It's Hogwarts. Anytime you think something won't happen, it does. Like now for instance.

"HARRY! POTTER!" Hagrid yelled.

The half-giant lowered his head and charged for Harry. Ron and Hermione flung to his side. The three each nodded at each other.

"STUPEFY!" they yelled.

Three jets of light shot at Hagrid's chest. The three collided with him, and Hagrid stopped. He did not fly back. He did not cease to glare angrily at Harry. He literally just stopped in his tracks.

"Did we get him?" Ron asked.

On que, Hagrid resumed movement. "HARRY! POTTER!"

Hagrid ran over to Harry. Hagrid balled his massive right hand into a fist and brought it high above his head.

"Stupefy!" Harry and Hermione yelled.

It had no effect. Hagrid's left hand grabbed Harry by the collar and Hagrid was prepared to cave in Harry's skull.

"HARRY!" Hermione yelled.

Harry closed his eyes as he tried mightily to free himself from Hagrid's grip to no avail. The next think Harry knew, there was a loud crack. Suddenly, Hagrid's grip on Harry lessened.

Harry opened his eyes to see Hagrid fall. Behind Hagrid, there was a furious Albus Dumbledore with Professors Snape and McGonagall to his sides.

"Headmaster…" Harry mumbled.

Dumbledore walked to the suddenly unconscious gamekeeper. "What happened here!?" he bellowed.

Harry shuddered." Well- he was just. I mean we were-"

Ron cut him off. "Hagrid went mental and attacked Harry. We tried to stun him, but blimey is he massive."

Dumbledore processed the information, a look of anger still on his face. "Back to your common rooms! All of you!" he yelled.

Students then scurried off towards the castle. Hermione, Ron and Harry stayed put.

The three members of the faculty knelt down beside Hagrid in attempts to examine the cause of his outburst of his homicidal anger.

"Has got to be the Imperious Curse." Snape mumbled. McGonagall agreed.

"Is he going to be alright?" Hermione asked.

"Yes he will Ms. Granger, I only knocked him out for close to an hour. When he wakes and we have to deal with the situation… Well- let's not focus on that for now." Dumbledore touched Hargid's face, and Hagrid disappeared with a crack.

"Told you he was going to kill us, Hermione. We haven't even been here a full week yet."

"Shut up, Ron!" she yelled.

"Calm down both of you." Dumbledore said. "That was a commendable effort taking on an opponent twice your size, half-giant or not."

The trio smiled.

"Twenty points to Gryffindor. Each." Dumbledore smiled back. "Now get to your common rooms."


	6. Nightfall, Part One

Chapter Six

Nightfall- Part One

With the remainder of this day passing, and with the sunset falling over the evening; Harry, Ron and Hermione were virtually glorified at dinner. After giving their house sixty points, they found out that this put them in the lead for the house cup by exactly one hundred points. This further separated them from second-place Hufflepuff.

Hagrid was then confirmed to be placed under the imperious curse. By who, it was unclear. However, that wouldn't be enough to save his job. Even though Dumbledore backed Hagrid the entire way, Hagrid was going to get sacked, that outcome was inevitable. Ron felt good in knowing that he was right from the start, but he was careful not to brag about it to Hermione and Harry.

This event was impressive on the student body. Yet this was detested by all four people different students. One of these four were in the Slytherin house, sulking. The other three were in the Ravenclaw common room at this moment. The fireplace was dim, the moonlight was attempting to peek through the overcast of clouds, and this somber night brought upon a blanket of silence across the grounds.

"I mean, really!? A half-giant goes and attacks Harry Potter and he's suddenly a hero again!? You're kidding me! Let that have been a Hufflepuff Hagrid went crazy on! Nobody would have given a damn! UGH!"

Ezren Aster was pacing back and forth in front of the fire, furious. She was the only Ravenclaw standing. Oliver was sitting cross-legged on the floor staring at her in both fear and entertainment. Levi Taylor was also present, lying on the couch half-asleep with his hands behind his head, as passive-aggressive as ever.

"Are they _that_ desperate for attention!? I swear they will do anything for glory! They make me so sick! Ugh!" she screamed.

Oliver chimed in. "Ezren, this is obviously not their work. I've seen them for five years. They wouldn't charm Hagrid into trying to kill one of them. Hagrid is gonna get fired. They wouldn't wish that on him. It was something else that triggered in him."

"Someone." Levi corrected Oliver as he rolled over to his left side on the comfortable sofa.

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked.

Levi yawned and rolled onto his right side, facing away from his peers. "Obviously someone wants Harry dead and Hagrid fired. Two birds one stone." He yawned.

Ezren continued pacing, venting her fury. Oliver walked to the window in an effort to keep his legs from falling asleep. Levi was breathing heavily, signaling he was asleep.

"Question is who could pull a plan like this off?" Ezren asked. "They had to have been close enough to cast the curse, yet far enough to not be seen. None of those snobs had seen anyone odd or suspicious."

Oliver proposed this next theory. "Maybe it was someone in the crowd of students. A Slytherin maybe? They don't like Hagrid either."

"Had to have been." Ezren said.

Levi yawned again as he made another correction. "False."

Ezren stomped her foot on the carpet. "Dammit, Levi! How is that false!?"

Levi stretched. "Dark magic leaves traces. Dumbledore, even as old as he is would be able to trace the curse back to the wand. Whoever did it was out of sight and apparated away immediately."

Ezren balled her fists up. "You can't apparate out of these grounds! I've tried! I failed. You've tried! You can't do it either! So what makes you think someone else can do it!?"

"Anything is possible with dark magic." Levi said.

Oliver nodded in agreement as he stared out the window.

"I think this is the work some Slytherin." Ezren said. "They definitely wanted to kill Harry and fire Hagrid. Two birds one stone like Levi said. That much is true."

"Oi!" Oliver yelled this alarmed the other two. "Oi, a guy just ran onto the Forbidden Forest!"

Ezren ran to the window. She looked outside the glass and, sure enough, saw a figure sprinting to the Forbidden forest. She couldn't tell who it was, but Oliver was right. Someone was making a move.

"Draco Malfoy." Levi mumbled.

The other two looked perplexed. "How?" they asked in unison.

"I was walking to the common room and Snape told him something today about midnight in the forest."

"And now you decide to tell us!?" Ezren yelled.

"It didn't matter until now. None of my business. Besides, you're so curious. Go visit." Levi suggested.

"No!" Oliver said. "There could be Death Eaters there if that's the case!"

Levi sat upright, finally realizing he wouldn't be able to fall truly asleep. "Which makes it all the more better. Don't you guys kill them off? Id be doing y'all a favor.

Oliver stood, hoping not to get dragged in. "Ezren, talk some sense into him!"

Ezren thought carefully. "Are you going?" she asked.

"Now that you piqued my interest in this situation, I don't see why not." He stood up and began stretching. "I'll at least go in my Animagus form until I hit the forest so nobody in the castle will recognize me."

"When did you become an Animagus!?" Ezren asked, learning something about her comrade that she had no knowledge of.

Levi counted on his fingers. "One, two skip a few… carry the one… five years ago."

In one seamless transition, Levi got on all fours. His body shrunk and his hair grew. In seconds, he transformed into a Northern Grey Wolf, indigenous to North America. His fur was as gray as the least touched crayon in the box. His eyes were a bright yellow, and he had a collar on him with the word "Shadow" engraved on it. The wolf glared at Oliver, and made a growl. Oliver, (against his will) opened the window, and Levi leapt out, and ran down the side of the tower, out of sight.

"Ezren, we don't have to go!" Oliver pleaded. "This could be dangerous!"

"Well, that never stopped us before has it?" she said. "Are you an animagus?"

Oliver shook his head no, hoping that would exclude him from the events that were about to take place. She immediately tapped his head with her wand. The entire body of Oliver shifted and shrunk, and suddenly Oliver resembled a newborn fox cub. Ezren then shifted into her Animagus form as well, and she transformed in to a small red fox, with snow-white paws. She made picked Oliver up with her mouth. With no further distractions, they then darted out of the open window and moved towards the forbidden forest, in search of a wolf and a moving figure.

The grey wolf, now in the forest, stopped short of a clearing. It sat and watched the three figures talk in the middle of a small clearing. He then transformed into a teenage male, still concealed by some plant.

The first boy, he immediately recognized as Draco Malfoy, the other two were not as easily identified; however one was a woman, and the other, a crazy person who was incredibly hairy.

"So, what are you saying? That he wasn't after the Potter boy, Bella?" Draco asked.

"NO!" Bella shouted. "We simply needed to get rid of that half breed. He's always in the forest. So I charmed myself to look like his damn dog and I used the Imperious curse to get him sacked. Since he won't be looking after the grounds for a while, we don't need to worry about anything."

That part made sense. "Then how did you get in here?"

"Easy, Fenrir is a werewolf after all. He walked right in the barrier and then brought me here when he got there." Bella said.

"Stop asking so many questions Draco!" Fenrir shouted. "Take the damn thing we came here to give you. It's not like we want to be here."

Meanwhile in the bushes, the foxes caught up to the dark skinned boy, and transformed into a beautiful girl, and a pale boy. The girl shifted and knelt in the shrubbery. The boy was still getting used to the fact he was transformed into something so small and hairy.

"Lev!" Ezren whispered. "What'd we miss?"

Levi pointed to the three. "Draco and pals."

They sat in silence and watched.

"Draco, take this." Bella handed him a small black box the others could not see. "It should help with the mission."

Draco pocketed the small box, they still couldn't see it, nor could they make out what it was.

"Now, Malfoy. Write your mother tomorrow. She's done nothing but talk our heads off since we told her where we were going. Now hurry up so we can kill Dumbledore, that old buzzard." Bella shouted with a demented happiness.

"Looks like it's my time to go." Levi said.

Ezren grabbed Levi by the arm. "What are you doing!?" she said.

"I was brought here to protect this school." He said. "As much as I'd rather be sleeping, I have to deal with this."

Ezren let go, much to Oliver's dismay. "Essie, no!"

Levi emerged from the bushes into the clearing. Fenrir, Bellatrix and Draco all looked at him scornfully.

"You again!" Draco sneered.

"Yeah. Me again. Interesting group of friends you have here. I'm going to kill you wall. Just relax and let it happen." Levi said, pointing at them with a smile.

Ezren stepped forward gracefully with a bow. "What brings you here to our lovely forest? Foraging for potion ingredients, I hope."

The three looked up in alarm and had the wands at the ready.

"What do you want mudblood!?" Bella shouted at Ezren.

She smiled, "I'm far from a mudblood you psychotic bitch. I'm the purest of purebloods. Ezren Nievre Aster, pleased to meet you."

Oliver followed suit. He looked to Levi, "She sure makes an entrance, doesn't she?"

Levi nodded. "She wouldn't be our Essie if she didn't."

Fenrir licked his lips. "Ooooh, mmmmmm. I can't wait to get a bite into that one!" Fenrir pointed at Ezren.

Levi, in dramatic fashion, stuck his left arm out, so that Ezren was behind it. That comment left the girl nothing short of disgusted and fearful.

"Eeeeeew," she mumbled.

"You're going to have to pass me. That's not happening." Levi had a serious look in his eyes now. His bloodlust rivaled that of Bellatrix, and that was with the bracelet on. "I could take all three of them at once." Levi said. "But I'm guessing you two want to be involved. So l, I'll go for the fur ball called Fenrir. Oliver, Draco should be child's play for you. Ezren, you get to have playtime with the woman with the odd teeth."

"Indeed!" She cheered gleefully while pulling her wand out of the ponytail in her head.

"I am about to make quick work of these little children." Fenrir said, still trying to keep his thirst for Ezren under control. "I'll take the girl first, leave her to me!" he bellowed unto Bellatrix and Draco.

Levi pointed his wand at him. "Try it then."

"Such talk from a—" Fenrir stopped. His eyes were staring at the forest canopy. He was motionless.

"What's going on!?"Bellatrix asked. "Fenrir?"

"Whats happening?" Draco asked, fear taking hold of his tone.

"He's _your_ friend! You should know!" Ezren yelled back.

"He's transforming!" Oliver yelled.

"Bloody hell. I- Ive never seen…" Ezren moaned.

"What? It can't be full moon already!" Oliver yelled.

Then, they all looked up. The clearing allowed them to barely see the night sky. The clouds were moving, allowing the light from the full moon to finally be seen and radiantly force its light white light through the sky.

"Just great." Ezren complained.

The full moon, becoming ever brighter overhead, managed to shine through the clearing. Fenrir was transforming, and his growls were becoming howls, and he grew more and more hair, and bigger, and stronger, and rose up. His claws sharpened for blood. His teeth yearned for flesh. He was a full werewolf now. His eyes were concentrated on Ezren. His nose could smell the purity of her blood, and simply staring at her made him salivate for the taste of her flesh.

"Draco, get moving!" Bellatrix ordered. Draco was far too paralyzed by fear to move. "GET. MOVING. DRACO."

Not knowing exactly where to run to, Draco ran deeper into the forest. Getting lost was a much better option that sitting in the clearing waiting for Fenrir to rip every human being apart.

Bellatrix looked at the Ravenclaw trio and laughed. "Have fun." She smiled. She then disappeared with a crack. Bellatrix was gone.

Only Levi remained calm, even though he couldn't pretend he wasn't a little intimidated at a fully grown werewolf in front of him. To add to matters, this wasn't just any werewolf. It was Fenrir Greyback. _The_ Fenrir Greyback.

"Levi, _please_, we can run and go back to the dorms. We know what Draco was doing, let's just leave!" Oliver begged. His body was shaking uncontrollably.

"Levi, I agree. We can take on two Death Eaters, but I don't know about a werewolf…" Ezren added, her composure slipping.

Somehow, Levi's borderline cockiness enveloped her body and made her feel better about the situation. How? He hardly ever entertained a conversation with her. He never shown any signs of affection. Most of the time he never even made eye contact with her! Yet seeing him stand tall, seeing him confident, and seeing him ready to fight made her horomones race in a manner that made her feel comfortable.

"You can opt out at any time." He said. "I have yet to kill a werewolf, so I'm looking to add that nice fur pelt to my collection. Besides, Fenrir Greyback is the most notorious werewolf of all time. I'd be doing hundreds of people a favor."

Levi cracked his neck and stepped forward as Fenrir howled under the full moon. The challenge excited the both of them and they each were ready to unleash their killer instinct.


	7. Nightfall, Part Two

**Chapter 7**

**Nightfall**

Ezren unconsciously took a few steps backwards. Oliver was still standing behind her, and together the two tried their hardest to unsuccessfully conceal their fear.

Fenrir roared so loudly the ground shook beneath his feet, and his mighty howl bellowed through the dimly lit forest. He was a full werewolf now. His brute strength and bloodlust was enough to easily kill all of them. Levi stood his ground, wand in hand focused on his target. Behind him, Oliver was shaking feverishly, and Ezren tried to hold herself together.

"Levi, what do we do?" Oliver asked, trembling.

"It's not hard to figure out." Levi snapped.

With no further warning, Fenrir howled and charged for their position. Instinctively, Levi turned into a wolf again, and charged at Fenrir in response. The collision that resulted was a bone-shattering scene. There were two animals aggressively clawing and biting at each other, and the groans, roars and blood that escaped the bodies of the wolves was enough to Levi used his superior agility to run around the enraged Fenrir and bite him in any place he could find. Fenrir was roaring and sending his paws flying and throwing his arms in attempts to drive the biting Levi away, but nothing worked at the moment against the superior agility.

For a split second, it looked as if Levi would win. Those hopes were dashed in moments. Fenrir grabbed Levi's tail. He picked the wolf up and raised him high above his head and Fenrir roared in victory. Levi was kicking and howling to free himself from Fenrir's grab, but to no avail. Fenrir then slammed him into the ground, and an eerie thud resonated through the forest.

"Levi!" Oliver shouted, longing for his friends safety.

Levi quickly found his feet and began to bite into the legs of the werewolf again. Levi had the entirety of Fenrir's ankle in his powerful jaws, and began to drive the werewolf backwards. Levi was taking control. Fenrir lost his balance and crashed to the cold earth. While on his back, he then used his other leg and delivered a punishing blow to the face of the wolf, sending Levi barking away in pain.

"Ollie! We gotta do something!" Ezren said. "He can't win!"

Oliver snapped back. "But what're we gonna do! Blimey, normal magic won't work!"

"_Something_!" she desperately yelled. As composed as she normally was, she had never studied on werewolves before. This situation was completely new to her.

They looked to see the fight again. Levi ran at Fenrir again, and kept biting at Fenrir's legs in the same manner as he did before. This only enraged Fenrir more. With all his might, he picked Levi up by his hind legs. Fenrir then howled and then slammed him to the ground with an eerily loud paralyzing slam. The move was far louder and painful to the first. This time, Levi had no energy want to get up. He remained in his Animagus form, motionless at the feet of the werewolf.

"Levi!" Ezren yelled.

Oliver was dumbfounded and shaking in fear, was Levi dead?

Fenrir wasted no time to continue his dominance. He picked up Levi again by his hind legs. Fenrir swung around and threw him into the distance. Levi, hurling through the air, and smashed into the trunk of a tree. The body then fell slowly to the ground, not moving. Fenrir moved his head to the moon overhead, and made an earsplitting howl. Ezren and Oliver were stunned it happened so fast.

Ezren pulled her wand out and aimed at Fenrir. "Advada Kedavra!" she yelled.

The green flash of light hit Fenrir. Nothing happened. Fenrir was as furious as ever. His new target was the girl.

Ezren was floored. How could she have failed? Did she not mean it enough? Was she too weak? Did she not care for Levi enough to try to kill Fenrir? Her spirit was breaking.

Fenrir made a mighty roar, and bolted for their position, unfazed at all. Oliver had his wand in his hand, but was shaking feverishly. Learning about a werewolf in class was different than seeing one charge at you, ready for blood. Oliver stepped in his way, and Fenrir used the back of his hand and smacked Oliver across the ground, sending Oliver crashing to the earth.

Ezren looked up and cast every curse she could at Fenrir. Nothing worked. Fenrir grabbed her by the neck and lifted her off the ground. Her wand fell to the soft earth.

"Oliver!" she managed to say. The air rapidly escaping her.

The hand of Fenrir was clenching tighter and tighter on her throat, and she began to blackout and slowly lose control of her body. Her eyes began to close. Her arms fell at her sides. Fenrir threw her to the floor. The slam was as an earthshattering one. She screamed so loud, Oliver 's ears bled and his heart felt as if it tore apart seeing Ezren nearly killed in his face. Fenrir's mouth began to salivate at the unconscious girl. One word ran through his mind at the sight of her. Dinner.

'Merlin,' he thought, 'it took Essie and Lev down.'

Oliver rose to his feet and pointed his wand to Fenrir. Oliver was the only one left, and he backed away, as Fenrir stared at his best friend. Oliver saw his life flash before his eyes. Oliver was scared to do much of anything. He slid away on the ground as Fenrir walked ever closer to devouring his friend in his face.

"Help me!" He screeched, there was nothing he could do. He was too scared to even think.

The next thing Oliver realized, there was a flash of red light. Fenrir turned around to see the source, and there was a standing Levi. He wasn't a wolf anymore, but rather his normal self.

"Your opponent is over here." Levi taunted.

Ready for another chance at Levi for bloodying his legs, Fenrir salivated being able to truly end Levi. Oliver was fighting the urge to wet himself. With another ear-splitting howl, Fenrir rushed at Levi. Levi grinned, having a perfect shot for killing him. Also, Levi was ready for payback for the sharp pains in his lower back and shoulders.

"Levi! What are you doing!? Move!" Oliver desperately yelled in attempts to save his friend.

Levi flicked his left wrist, and his wand became a blade of blinding white light. It was about as thin as the wand, but about as long as Levi's forearm. Fenrir leaped high in the air, and began to close in on Levi and rip his head off.

At least, that was the intention.

At the height of Fenrir's jump, Levi pointed his blade of light at his opponent. In the blink of an eye, it grew in length from its normal fourteen inches into a full five feet. The light shot through the chest of the werewolf. Fenrir was dangling in the air with a massive hole in his chest. Levi was not letting up either. His wand's blade of light was still suspending Fenrir in the air. The blood began to fall onto the earth, and Fenrir's struggle began to lessen the bigger the red pool became beneath him.

"Oliver." Levi started. "Check the girl."

"Ezren?" Oliver asked, his eyes fixed upon Fenrir's mid-air desperate cling to life.

Levi glared at Oliver. "No. The other unconscious chicken near the Eiffel Tower… OF COURSE I MEAN EZREN!"

Oliver scurried over to Ezren, ignoring the sarcastic statement. Levi still held Fenrir suspended in the air.

"If what I think is true, then all the people you've bitten and victimized through the years will no longer transform under the full moon. Then again, I'm not sure. Killing a werewolf was one of the last things I was expecting to do when I got here."

The white light faded away, and the blade went away. Fenrir crash landed to the ground, whimpering and writhing in pain.

"Levi!" Oliver yelled, his hands covered in human blood. "Her throat is crushed! I don't know what to do!"

Levi walked over to Ezren's body and examined the blood steadily streaming from her neck and upper chest. "She'll be fine." He said.

Levi took his wand and pointed it at the fallen Ezren. A blue mist emanated from the tip of the black wand and fell onto the chest and face of Ezren. Oliver could watch the bones and blood vessels in the neck and chest of Ezren uncomfortably slide and pop into their natural place.

In seconds, Ezren coughed blood and writhed in pain slightly. She was unconscious, but above all, she was alive.

"Ezren!" Oliver shouted. "You're ok!"

"Don't touch her." Levi said. "I just slid aligned everything. She's still hurt. She needs a bed in the hospital wing for a while."

"How do you reckon we're supposed to get her there?"

Suddenly Levi looked up in alarm. He looked at the forest in the same way that forest animals do when they smell fire. "I don't know. Maybe we should ask Albus."

On queue, Albus Dumbledore appeared in the clearing, flanked by Professor Snape. "Mr. Taylor!" he yelled.

Levi found it difficult to take him serious. Sure, Dumbledore was one of the most powerful wizards of all time, but he was in his night robes. To Levi, it looked like a nightgown. He laughed. "Mr. Dumbledore."

Snape sneered. "That's Headmaster Dumbledore to you."

Levi gave Snape a look of disgust. "And you are?"

Snape was extremely short-tempered as of late. "How dare you-"

"Serverus." Dumbledore calmed him. "Mr. Taylor. You are out of your bed after hours! You are in the forbidden forest! Do you have any knowledge on what the word forbidden means?"

Oliver shuddered as he continued to kneel by Ezren's side. Levi however remained unfazed. "Yeah, see a lot of things happened." He said. "Which reminds me."

Levi turned around and pointed his wand in the dark distance. The silver light emanated from his wand and spearheaded itself into the darkness. Levi found his target, as the darkness shouted back with a painful roar. Fenrir was limping away, and still hadn't escaped in time to leave Levi's range. As quickly as the light appeared, it disappeared.

Levi turned to Dumbledore with a look of smugness. "So as you can see, we weren't exactly here just to stare at stars. I had work to do. You remember why I was brought here right?"

Dumbledore was furious that Levi was such a quiet student, but snippy, cocky and powerful when he wanted to be. He snapped his fingers and Ezren disappeared.

Oliver shrieked. "Where did she go?" he asked.

"The hospital wing." Dumbledore said, displeasure written in his voice. "You two, my office. Now."


	8. The Courtyard

**Chapter Eight**

**The Courtyard**

Ezren somehow managed to summon energy to open her eyes as the white light emanating from a nearby open window began to pierce her retinas. Quickly, her eyes adjusted to the bright light of the sun at high noon, and she surveyed her surroundings. She realized that she lay upon fresh white linen in what she recognized as the hospital wing. She next realized that she was in a great deal of pain. Her neck felt that it was an iron hand still gripping it, and her upper chest was still pulsating in pain. It was slowly fading, yet it still wasn't fast enough for her. Just as she groaned and sighed her way to being fully conscious, a voice filled her ears.

"Oh good! You're awake!"

Ezren moved her head and neck to her left to see who else was with her in the room. Her neck still felt painful and stiff, and increased the more she moved. She struggled, but she then saw a woman walking towards her. It was Madam Pomfrey.

"Oh child! I'm so glad you're awake!" she repeated. "Now I can really fix you up in a jiffy."

"Fine…"

It was equally as hard trying to speak than it was trying to move her neck. Her jaw was aching as well. She felt like she was choke-slammed by a werewolf. She suddenly and vivily remembered the events of her night.

"Where are my boys? Where is my wand?" she managed to spit out.

Poppy shook her head with a smile. The girl has been up for a total of 30 seconds and she's already asking about her boys. "Don't speak, dear. It'll only slow your progress."

Poppy took out her wand, and began to tap the most painful points on Ezren's body. This was mostly in Ezren's "reconstructed" neck. Aside from a few grunts and flashes of intense pain, the process went relatively well.

After a few deep breaths, Ezren found energy to speak. "Poppy…when did I get here?" She asked.

"Oh, a little after midnight." She replied. "Dumbledore had called me here, and I walked in and saw you covered in blood on this very same mattress."

That explained most of it. "What about the boys?" Ezren asked, always concerned for their well-being.

"Well, one of them insisted that they had saved your life by fixing your neck. The other was silent I know that much. Honestly, I thought that one of the boys was going to get deported! Dumbledore was so upset at the events last night!"

Ezren shuddered at the thought of her best friends separating from her. As much as she hated Levi's passive-aggressive demeanor and how infuriating it made her to see him intentionally act distant from her and Oliver at all times. Somehow, in between all of the small fights they had and her trying to fight to get him to open up to her, she grew far too attached to the American. If Levi got deported, she was leaving too. In addition, she would be hellbent on uprooting Ollie and his family to Canada. The trio was too close to be split apart. Oliver would continue his education in Okanagan.

"Levi?" she asked.

"I think that's his name. Then he explained something about killing Fenrir, and Dumbledore told me to heal him, and left it at that. They left this just this morning; they stayed all night to see if you would wake up. I had to chase them out so they could get some breakfast."

"But what did you—_ow Poppy_!"

Madam Pomfrey was jabbing uncomfortably at Ezren's neck. "Calm down, sweetheart." She stood up. "All done, drink out of the flask to your left and you'll be ready to get to class."

Ezren reluctantly grabbed the flask at her bedside table, with classes being the furthest thing from her mind. She earned a day off. She took a sip of the orange colored beverage in the flask, and a look of distaste crawled onto her face She immediately spit it out.

"What the hell is this!?" Ezren yelled, her taste buds in protest.

"Such language! Its Pumpkin juice, my dear!" Poppy yelled back.

"Blech…!" Ezren sputtered. "No-one ever told you I hated pumpkin juice, did they? Because I do. I really hate it!"

The elderly woman simply curled her lip in distaste. She didn't have time to cater to specific tongues. This was a hospital, not a hotel. "Drink it and get to class!" she yelled.

Wasting no time, Ezren forced herself out of her mattress. Her neck and body was still stiff. The sunlight danced comfortably onto her skin as she walked from the wing and crossed through the stone halls of the school. She was in no rush to get to class; after all, she earned this right to walk as slowly to class as she wanted. While she walked through the quiet halls of Hogwarts, and another thought crossed her mind.

Why not get some more sunshine? She walked down a set of stairs, and she gracefully strolled through the courtyard. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, her skin bathed in the sunlight, and her mind was actually at ease for the first time since she moved here. As she walked directly through the lush green grass of the courtyard, it was one thing she forgot.

This was a free period for most of the sixth year Gryffindors that Ezren had made herself an enemy of.

What made this situation worse? She had no wand to threaten them with. Rather than have these Gryffindors attack and taunt her, she turned on her heels and walked the other way. By that time, it was too late. They all saw her, and they all were salivating at the prospect of payback.

Her best friends on the other hand were in the final five minutes of their Divination class. Levi was struggling to stay awake. They were gazing at their Crystal Balls absentmindedly as if something was going to happen. Levi was tired of Oliver making predictions ranging from "finding love" to "great danger." Oliver was tired of Levi opening the textbook and predicted the first thing he saw on the page.

"Levi, are we checking on Ezren or going to lunch?" Oliver asked.

"I'm feeling some lunch. We'll see if she's ok before we have potions." Levi said. "Besides, I fixed her neck last night. She'll be alright."

"But I want to make sure she's ok." Oliver said. He held Levi responsible for Ezren's predicament, and his irritation at Levi would not subside until Ezren was found safe.

With the ringing of the bell, the pair walked to the Great Hall in search of food.

In the courtyard however, Ezren's time was not nearly as fun.

"Well, well. Look what we have here." Dean Thomas said as he approached the injured and irritated Ezren.

"Looks like we got some Blue in the courtyard. Too bad it's mostly red robes here." Seamus Finnegan added.

'_Dammit!'_ she said to herself, _'No wand, no Maximus, no Levi, no Ollie, hell even Snape would be a really nice sight for sore eyes, injured…can I get a break?!'_

The only thing on her side was that they didn't know that she was wand-less. She knew some pretty good nonverbal spells to hold her ground if a fight decided to break out. Simply put, she thought- no, she knew she was better than they were.

_Thank you Okanagan Academy._

Other Gryffindors were moving in on her, ready to finally snap back at the Ravenclaws. In their minds, this girl would be made an example of.

"Well! I think we should teach her a lesson! Nobody disrespects Gryffindor and gets away with it."

Ezren rolled her eyes. "Oh stuff it, piglet." That little statement riled the crowd up a little, and they looked like they were really going to harass her more.

"Well, I think we should handle her and show her who she's messing with!" A random Gryffindor yelled. They began to circle her. This would not end well for those involved.

Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, Levi was busy tearing into a plate of potatoes and carrots, and Oliver was eating a bowl of cereal, while reading his Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. Lunch just wasn't the same without Ezren, and they hadn't noticed she had such a big role until she was gone. So did the housemates. She was, in essence, the heartbeat and energy of the house.

At the professors table, Professor McGonagall decided to break the silence that held the table. "It is my understanding they killed a werewolf last night, am I correct?"

Dumbledore's eyes were not twinkling. He was still furious. "Yes, they did. Miss Aster was severely injured and Mister's Bell and Taylor were not deviating about their story. Though it is very obvious they were Occluding. Quite strongly at that."

Snape looked alarmed. "They are Occlumens?" It was an extremely rare achievement to be skilled in Occlumency at such an age." Serverus was considered a true master in this particular skill, but he only managed to grasp only the _basics_ at the age of twenty.

Dumbledore nodded to the affirmative. "Both of them were occluding. This leaves me to believe that Miss Aster is an Occlumens as well. I'm sure that may even be a Legimens."

Professor Flitwick smiled. "Those three are brilliant, especially the girl. I heard from one of my students that she wishes to open up an apothecary." He shot a sly look at Snape, nearly breaking his neck from looking up so high. "Tell me, Professor Snape, how is her Potions marks?"

Snape sneered and mumbled his answer. "Excellent."

McGonagall choked on her food immediately. "_Anapneo_." She coughed, after her blockage was cleared. "Excuse me Professor, but did you just say that her grades were 'Excellent'? Miss Granger has been here longer and she only warrants and 'Adequate'."

Snape scoffed and mumbled. "That is correct."

Oliver read his book while conversing with a couple Ravenclaws. Levi was keeping to his thoughts, as he always does. The silence at the Ravenclaw table was then broken when an out-of-breath Cho Chang ran to the table.

"Look guys!" she yelled, commanding the attention of the professors, the sixth, seventh and a few fifth years in the immediate area. "T-That girl! In the c-courtyard." She huffed out. "Sh-she is-" She shook her head. "Ton of Gryffindors…"

Her apparent boyfriend wrapped his arms around her in efforts to calm her down. Levi put his food down stood up and walked closer to Cho.

"That girl! She is in the courtyard! The Gryffindor's are about t-to do something to her!"

Levi asked. "What girl?"

Cho was still out of breath. "The girl… she's a Ravenclaw. She's… in trouble."

The table collectively yelled in unison. "WHO?"

At this point, Oliver's adrenaline began to course through his veins. What if it was Ezren? Levi on the other hand attempted to control his anger. For somebody's sake, they better pray that it isn't Ezren.

Cho looked around. "I was walking down the East Hall, and I saw the circle of the red robes around her, and she might get really hurt."

The rest of the tale yelled again. "Who was it!?"

She then pointed at Levi. "You're best friend, I think. Essie."

That was all Levi needed to hear. He bolted out the hall and down the corridors; Oliver was hot on his heels. More Ravenclaws in their sixth years followed suit, about eleven of them in total.

"You better be alright by the time I get there Ezren!"

Ezren was feeling very uncomfortable. She had no wand. Her neck and upper torso were still in pain, and she was backed in a corner by herself surrounded by enemies. She was terrible in the health department, and no allies. She had hoped for a teacher or two. 'C'mon, Lev…where the hell _are_ you?'

"Look at this! The poor Sheila is scared!" Colin Creevy said.

Ezren sneered. "That's not my name you disgusting oaf."

"She is scared?" Dean taunted. "She wasn't when her other friends were near her."

"Yeah, give her Jelly Legs Jinx, and knock her teeth apart!" Lavender yelled.

That was all jealously speaking. Lavender looked good; but Ezren looked great – which Lavender hated. Ezren desperately held back the urge to throw a nonverbal _Stupefy_ at the girl.

"Grow up, you twat." Ezren scolded.

"I volunteer to do it!" Ron said. This was met with applause as her walked in front of her.

He pointed his wand directly into her chest, thinking of a good enough spell to hit her with. Ezren closed her eyes and looked away; the anticipation was too much to bear.

"_Expelliarmous!"_

Ezren though that she that was hit with the spell, but when she didn't go flying backward she took a chance and opened her eyes. In her eyesight there was Levi. There was the exact same fierce expression on his face that she saw last night as Levi fought Fenrir. Levi had his wand pointed toward where Weasley stood.

"Levi!" She yelled in pure joy.

The entire group looked behind themselves, and sure enough, a Ravenclaw, Levi Taylor, was there for the rescue.

Levi rushed forward. "They didn't hurt you did they Essie?"

She smiled, "They were planning to."

He curled his lip in distaste. "Same thing." He swirled to the Gryffindor gang.

"What the hell is going on? Does everyone in this courtyard want to spend more time in the Hospital Wing? You love Poppy that much?"

The crowd of about twenty Gryffindors up roared, and about seven others, who were lounging, got up for a fight. Behind Levi, the other Ravenclaws rushed in. In total, it was nine. The first one to reach Levi was Oliver.

"Gosh you run fast, mate! _Accio_ Ezren!"

On cue, Ezren flew through the air, and flew directly into the waiting arms of Levi. Oliver gave Ezren her wand he had tucked away. Ezren's face had a massive smile on it.

"What was that now?" Levi taunted.

Harry had enough. "Enough of this! Just get out of here!" He yelled, and stepped in front of the Gryffindors, like he was the leader.

"You're not about to harass one of us and think we're gonna let that slide!" Levi yelled. The Ravenclaws behind him were ready for a fight.

The Gryffindors were also ready; a skirmish was inevitable at this point. Harry might as well throw the first blow, like a true leader.

"We'll give you to the count of five!" Harry said wisely.

Levi looked back at his fellow Ravenclaws, offended and furious.

"Did he just say that?" Ezren asked.

"Yeah!" They shouted.

Levi turned around.

"That's four more than we need! _Stupefy_!"

The first curse was fired, and the two sides ran at each other, a mixture of spells and swear words being yelled out, and in the courtyard, there was nothing but bright lights and a mixture of Red and Blue.

From above, spectators from all houses watched this fight. From above, it looked dead even. If you were down there, you could see why Levi was considered Americas Wizard Protégé. Levi dashed through the Red robes.

"_Confundo!_"

He moved to the side to avoid another curse.

"_Impedimenta!_"

"_Wingardium Leviosa!"_

He picked up Colin Creevy, and threw him into Ron Weasley. He then jumped up and fired four spells in one breath and it knocked out four people. To him, this was child's play. Ezren meanwhile, was searching for Lavender Brown.

"Found you! _Diffindo!"_

Ezren's Severing Charm hit Lavender in the head. Not to kill, but it chopped off a sizeable chunk of her hair, giving her a big and bright bald spot. Lavender yelled and shouted swear words, but Ezren couldn't hear through the fighting.

Let's see how much she hates me now! Ezren thought to herself.

Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape all arrived at the same time at the same spot on the East Corridor, and had an "excellent" view of the fight below.

"Headmaster, what do we do!?" McGonagall yelled.

Dumbledore watched, stunned, too furious for words. With Hogwarts coming under attack from media scrutiny, all he could defend was the prestige of the Gryffindor house, and the pure good and intelligence of the Ravenclaw house. Then they turned on him and fight each other? He was upset that something like this would happen under his watch.

He was highly upset that the students showed blatant disregard for the safety of their fellow students, and he was furious that his most prized student, and last hope for the world, and the supposed to be role-model for young witches and wizards was down there. Harry Potter was down there, dueling, and Dumbledore was nothing short of disappointed.

"Snape, get Professor Flitwick and bring him to my office!"

There was a spell shot at them and it hit the stone column next to Professor McGonagall, making a huge bang and sending dust and fragments flying around the area. This basically epitomized the chaos of this scene.

"Hurry!" Dumbledore begged.

Snape scurried off with a small smile at all the destruction. Competition was healthy, in his opinion.

"Minerva, go to the hospital wing and conjure more beds! Then come to my office! GO!"

She ran off, and another white beam of light hit the second level of the East Corridor, reducing the point of impact to a crater, and sending a lot of fragments and dust flying into the air.

Dumbledore got his wand and went to work, as he deflected a green curse from hitting him. Was that an _Avada_? He took a deep breath.

He conjured a circle of flames around the fight, and everyone below knew they were in for trouble. Dumbledore knew they were going to stop fighting as the sight of the tall flames he was just trying to corner the people he knew started it, Levi, Ezren, and Harry; the two foreigners and his understudy.

"Link up and retreat!" Levi yelled as loudly as possible.

Suddenly, the Ravenclaws were linking arms and being lead from the fight. Ezren took control. "Lev! Get over here!"

The two used their wands to make a part in the fire they could run through. The Ravenclaws all ran through it, and sprinted up the staircase in the direction of the tower. They made their point, this skirmish was over.

The Gryffindors below were trying to recover, they just handed their asses handed to them. Not figuratively- literally, the Ravenclaws were far too much for them. Specifically, Levi was.

He brought a new meaning to _speak softly, carry a big stick._

He single handedly took out half of them, and he was only gunning for Harry.


End file.
